David Tolentino's final predictions of the 79th annual Academy Awards nominations

Best Picture

Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Queen

Best Director

Bill Condon - Dreamgirls
Clint Eastwood - Letters From Iwo Jima
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Paul Greengrass - United 93
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Best Actor In A Leading Role

Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit Of Happyness
Ken Watanabe - Letters From Iwo Jima
Forest Whitaker - The Last King Of Scotland

Best Actress In A Leading Role

Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes On A Scandal
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet - Little Children

Best Actor In A Supporting Role

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Djimon Hounsou - Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson - The Departed

Best Actress In A Supporting Role

Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes On A Scandal
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel

Best Adapted Screenplay

Children Of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes On A Scandal
Thank You For Smoking

Best Original Screenplay

Babel
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Volver

Best Film Editing

Babel
Children Of Men
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Art Direction

Children Of Men
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima
Marie Antoinette
Pan's Labyrinth

Best Costume Design

Bobby
Curse Of The Golden Flower
Dreamgirls
The Good German
Marie Antoinette

Best Cinematography

Apocalypto
Children Of Men
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Makeup

Apocalypto
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Best Original Score

Babel
The Da Vinci Code
The Fountain
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Painted Veil

Best Original Song

Bobby - ''Never Gonna Break My Faith''
Dreamgirls - ''Listen''
Happy Feet - ''Song Of The Heart''
An Inconvenient Truth - ''I Need To Wake Up''
The Pursuit Of Happyness - ''A Father's Way''

Best Sound Mixing

The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superman Returns

Best Sound Effects Editing

Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superman Returns
United 93

Best Visual Effects

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superman Returns
X-Men: The Last Stand

Best Animated Feature Film

Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Best Documentary Feature

Deliver Us From Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq In Fragments
Shut Up & Sing
The War Tapes

Best Foreign Language Film

Curse Of The Golden Flower (China)
The Lives Of Others (Germany)
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
Volver (Spain)
Water (Canada)

On Tuesday, we'll have the final tally, but one thing is certain; this year was filled with films and performances that would merit Academy Award nominations, and this Oscar ceremony will be one of the best we've seen in recent years, that's my bet. We'll know for sure Tuesday morning, so don't forget to tune in.